Toronto - Don Mills

DON MILLS UPDATE : DAY 7 fledge watch. Sally reports :

Today was a lovely day weather-wise, compared to yesterday! Surprisingly chilly though, because of the biting wind.
I arrived and immediately saw Quest up on her new favourite window sill, one on the nest box and another in the space between the nest box opening and the lip that partially obscures a content lump! Feeling good that I could confirm the two girls in on the ledge I grabbed the rescue carrier, and did a quick scan of the other roof tops and ledges from where I was sat. Nothing. No sign of Mystery, RZee or Matrix.
It was very, very quiet for quite a while. I thought that Bobak and DoHa must have been fed they were very content. I also thought Quest might be there to discourage the girls from flying as it was incredibly windy! I had to pack my camping chair away and hold onto my towel.
About an hour later it suddenly got very noisy. Mystery appeared, calling overhead flying west and was in a tussle of some sort with another peregrine, quite larger than himself. I hoped it wasn’t a female intruder, and rather a juvie chasing him for food and playing which we’ve seen already.
They disappeared behind the trees that hug the corner of Duncan Mill Rd and Valleybrook. The calling also stopped. All was quiet again.
Then a juvie came over 225 above me and attempted to land on the top ledge of 220, bumped the concrete wall of the ledge, rebounded out above me and then to the top ledge of 240. Might have had difficulty judging the landing because he was carrying a bit of food! Definitely something in his talons (could see a dangly bit lol). Probably couldn’t dislodge one food quickly enough to land. Shortly after though he flew to the roof of 240 and stayed there for quite some time before disappearing from my sight as I was back to focusing on the nest ledge.
Quest then took off around the east side of 225. Bobak and DoHa vocalized and DoHa flapped and ran back and forth on the ledge. She hugged the east corner of the nest ledge and a couple of times I thought she was going to slip and accidentally fledge. Then they were back together by the nest box. And Quest flew back in to her window sill (not with any food though).

There were quite a few alarm calls from Mystery and just before Mark and Marion joined me he took off westward.
Not too much happened and Cathy joined us at the front of 225 Duncan Mills Rd. We moved a little east to get a better view of both 240 and 220.
During the quiet period we suddenly noticed a flight. As we realized Quest was still on the window sill we exclaimed “juvie!” And as we realized this, she went out of sight behind those corner trees. Damn. Off we went to see if we could follow her flight. By the time we were at the south west corner she was out of sight. But, as we made plans for me to check the parking lot and area to the west of 220, with Cathy making for the back of 220 and Marion keeping watch on the corner across the street, we saw a fledgling flap flap flapping against the wind, not getting anywhere and coming to land on a parking light fixture. Hmmm, did the fledgling we had set off to follow land on a low ledge then continue to the light stand…OR…did her sister decide she didn’t want to be “abandoned” by her sister and set off to follow? OR did the fledgling get caught up in one of the crazy wind tunnels, whip around 220 and miraculously make it around to the light fixture (we came to realize this wasn’t so).
Now our main focus was on DoHa (we quickly established it was her from the red tape. Now it dawned on us that it was the larger, less active Bobak - with blue tape - who had flown off low!). At this stage we continued to hope that maybe, just maybe, Bobak had stayed in her usual pancaked position on the ledge, one reason being Quest didn’t immediately set off after her daughters. She stayed on the window sill, not bothered at all by what had just happened. She did eventually fly off around the east side of 225.
We divided up the radio walkie talkies, in case she took flight and we had to split up. But nope, she hopped about back and forth on the light fixture for oh, just about six and a half hours!
Some lovely flights from the boys and parents, the parents also circling and circling, over the Betty Sutherland Trail and surrounding woodland, then east, west and south. It didn’t really give us much comfort to see this.
Lucie arrived and Cathy did a through walkabout, especially the car park and exit driveway to the west of 220.
Lucie walking into the ravine to check the trees, and I found a path that hugged the tree line between the messy construction zone at the back of 220 and 240 and the ravine. We figured we had enough watchers to do check the trees and scrub, in case she’d come to ground and was keeping quiet with all the human activity going on, and noise of jack hammers and what not.
Lucie explored the trail path for quite some time, and Marion also explored the area between 220/240 and the ravine, as that was the direction the parents were frequenting with their search.
Trying not to feel to anxious about Bobak we concentrated on DoHa. And finally, FINALLY she took off east then around between 225 and the copper building. Cathy followed, Lucie saw where she went and radioed to tell us where she’d landed. We repositioned with her in view. She entertained us on the balcony railing of the building, by head butting the opaque, mirrored glass window and tumbling down into the balcony. Soon after the hopped up onto the railing again, and then attempted to get onto the outside ledge of the balcony. She almost fell but did a parrot trick by catching herself with her beak and flapping and scrambling back up the outer balcony ledge.
Cathy and Lucie walked to try and account for the male juvies. They alerted us to the parents both flying south east over Moatfield Drive, to settle on the Thales building. We mused on this choice of where to settle (it was now dusk) and wondered if they had found Bobak, or heard her calling. We are full of hope that she is OK and will appear over the next day or two.

Cathy and Lucie had also found where the male juries were, and we closed the watch with DoHa on the balcony wall of where she’d flown, and one parent on the north side of Thales.

Cheers

Sally